Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany has claimed that rivals Manchester United "hit the jackpot" with the signing of Robin van Persie.
The Dutch striker, who was reportedly a main target of Roberto Mancini, decided to join United in the summer from Arsenal in a £24m move.
Kompany has admitted that Van Persie has made a direct impact on the title race, but does not believe that the 29-year-old is the only reason why the clubs are where they are in the league.
"United hit the jackpot with Van Persie," Kompany told the Daily Mail. "But you can't think 'What if' about Van Persie. I am not sitting here thinking, 'What if we had signed Lionel Messi' either.
"His transfer has made a direct impact but to say he's the reason we can't make it - if it turns out that way - is not correct.
"I still believe we can do this but if we don't, there will be plenty more reasons than the fact we didn't sign one player and another club did."
City sit in second place in the Premier League, nine points behind Sir Alex Ferguson's side.
